


When I've Known This All Along

by DasWarSchonKaputt



Category: Glee
Genre: Klaine Prompt Challenge, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2014-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-22 07:31:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2499659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DasWarSchonKaputt/pseuds/DasWarSchonKaputt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rachel has known Kurt Hummel ever since he joined their school’s hideously uncool glee club their sophomore year of high school. Kurt has known Blaine just a little longer than that. They're best friends, and it's kind of hard not to envy their closeness, just...</p><p>There's only one problem, really, as Rachel finds out. Kurt is in love with Blaine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When I've Known This All Along

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the Klaine Prompt Challenge. The prompt upon which it is based is at the bottom of the story.

**Rachel | College**

Rachel has known Kurt Hummel ever since he joined their school’s hideously uncool glee club their sophomore year of high school. Kurt has known Blaine just a little longer than that.

There’s a part of Rachel that wishes she had known Kurt and Blaine before they became _Best-Friends-Forever-Kurt-and-Blaine_ , before they ended up so fully entrenched in each other’s lives. Freshman year was—difficult for Rachel, and maybe having that sort of friendship would have made it easier.

As it is, by the time Kurt and Blaine auditioned for glee, they were already too close in their friendship for any new acquaintances to compete.

It’s hard not to be envious of their closeness, if Rachel’s honest. In amongst all the lying and backstabbing and cheating that made up their high school relationships, Kurt and Blaine’s friendship was one of the few constants. Fights between them were rare and short-lived, and they had an easy dialogue – endless streams of inside jokes – and an unequivocal trust for one another.

Puck once proclaimed them _heterosexual life partners_ , accompanied with a snort, which Rachel guesses what his way of prodding fun at Kurt’s – admittedly out-there – fashion sense. It was kind of a dick move, actually, now that Rachel thinks back on it; Kurt’s somewhat dubious heterosexuality was a source of unending discomfort for him in high school.

But that’s not the point. The point is: come hell or high water, Kurt and Blaine have _always_ been best friends.

Which is why it feels like some sort of fundamental rule of the universe has been thrown away when Kurt and Blaine get into a massive fight in her sophomore year of college. It’s like gravity just _failed_ , because suddenly Kurt and Blaine – impossibly close Kurt and Blaine, heterosexual life partners Kurt and Blaine, the one constant relationship in high school Kurt and Blaine – aren’t speaking, and neither of them will tell Rachel why.

Rachel goes after Blaine for information first, interrogating him over lunch the next day.

He looks decidedly awkward, shifting in his chair as she broaches the subject. “It’s nothing, really,” Blaine deflects, tone begging Rachel to just _drop it_. “We just need some space to figure things out. Things were said that we didn’t mean – I’ll talk it out with Kurt tomorrow.”

Unfortunately for Blaine, just _dropping it_ isn’t in Rachel’s vocabulary. “I thought you and Kurt figured everything out together,” she says pointedly. “That’s kind of what best friends do, isn’t it?”

Blaine gives Rachel a strange look, eyebrows pinched, before sighing. “Even best friends need to think for themselves sometimes, Rachel,” he says. “Now can we talk about something else?”

Rachel does let it go, then, but only because she knows that _Blaine_ isn’t the only person she can corner for information about this fight.

\--

Kurt and Blaine share a small apartment a few blocks away from the student dorms. It’s neatly out of the way, and an absolute triumph of apartment hunting skills from both of them. Kurt’s decorated the inside in this cool modern-hipster-chic, and walking in there, Rachel is always struck by just how much this is _their_ space, so deeply personal to Kurt and Blaine.

Kurt is on the phone to his father when Rachel arrives at the apartment’s purple front door. She can hear him talking through the paper-thin wall separating them, and is suddenly struck by the image of him gesticulating wildly as he barrels through each piece of dialogue.

“I know, Dad,” Kurt is saying, tone strained. “I know – just, what if this is the lynch-pin?”

There’s a pause, and Burt must say something particularly inspiring – like Burt is prone to do these days – because Kurt’s voice cracks over the next part. “I just love him so much, Dad,” Kurt says, “and I just— _can’t_ lose him like that.”

Another pause, and then Kurt is choking back a laugh. “Dad, I’ve been in love with Blaine since freshman year.”

And Rachel is just—frozen. Stopped mid-way through raising her hand to knock on the door.

Because, it just makes so much sense.

It makes _so much_ sense.

_It makes so much sense._

Puck’s snort at the phrase _heterosexual life partners_ , Kurt’s lack of enthusiasm when they made out during a game of spin the bottle after graduation, _Kurt’s utter devotion to Blaine._

Oh, _Kurt._

It’s really not fair, Rachel realises. In a perfect world, Blaine would love Kurt back. In a perfect world, Kurt wouldn’t be in love with his straight best friend. In a perfect world, Blaine would be able to give Kurt the space he needs to get over it.

But he won’t, Rachel realises, because Blaine _doesn’t know._ He doesn’t know, because if he did, he wouldn’t be so far into Kurt’s personal space all the time. If Blaine knew, Kurt wouldn’t be _sobbing into the phone to his dad_ as he tries to figure out what the hell he’s supposed to do.

Part of Rachel wants to go back to Blaine and just _shake him_ , and tell him so that he can stop being such an unintentional asshole. That wouldn’t be right, though, Rachel knows. It’s not up to her to tell Blaine about how Kurt feels.

That’s a total betrayal of Kurt’s trust, and Kurt’s probably not even _out_.

So, the rest of Rachel decides to try and help Kurt get over Blaine by _any_ means necessary.

Which, really, is how it all starts.

\--

Operation Help Kurt Get Over Blaine gets off to a bit of a rocky start, for reasons that are by no means Rachel’s fault.

Rachel’s Broadway-bound; she has a _lot_ of gay friends. She also knows for a fact that Kurt is _very_ attractive, and a large number of her large number of gay friends would probably do Kurt in a heartbeat. (Even if Rachel never wants to think about anyone _doing_ Kurt like that, ever.) This leads to phase one: show Kurt he has other options.

Although the idea of having a rebound is generally seen as some kind of social faux-pas, it can’t be denied that it works. The quickest way to get over someone, as Santana once so crassly put it, is to get _under_ someone else. Rachel has experienced the phenomenon herself, with her ill-advised dating adventure with Brody, who, while good enough in bed that he could have done it for a living, actually _did_ do it for a living.

So the next day at classes, Rachel puts the idea forward, only to be greeted with rampant enthusiasm from her gay, male classmates. As it so happens, Kurt is kind of considered some sort of _hot commodity_ among her peers – a disastrously _out of your league_ hot commodity.

But, well, it doesn’t go as well as Rachel had hoped.

Okay, that’s a lie: Date Number One goes _terribly._

Because Kurt turns up at that coffee shop – where Rachel is _not_ hiding behind a copy of _Us Weekly_ , whatever are you talking about? – with _Blaine on his arm._

Okay, maybe Rachel could have been clearer to Kurt that it was a date, because he really didn’t seem to understand her subtle hints – “Rachel, do you have something in your eye? It looks like you’re trying to wink at me.” – and might have not heard _blind date_ when she said _friend who I think you would get on with_.

Kurt and Blaine then proceed to do the best-friend thing they always do that makes you feel just a smidgen excluded when you don’t get their jokes – seriously, what is so funny about _baby penguins_? – and by the end of the ‘date’, Matt is glaring over at Rachel above his caramel latte.

After that screw up, Matt refuses to accompany Rachel on piano for three weeks, and Kurt is no further towards getting over Blaine as she is to perfecting her piece for the Winter Showcase.

Date Number Two goes … better, really, for a limited standard of _better._

On the plus side, Rachel manages to schedule it while Blaine’s at a self-defence class, so Kurt turns up alone. On the minus side, Blaine kind of breaks his wrist during the class and Kurt has to run out halfway through to take him to the hospital.

As for Date Number Three—well, they don’t talk about Date Number Three. Ryan’s refusing to talk to Rachel until his eyebrows grow back, and it’s probably best to leave it at that.

After the Ryan Disaster – yes, those capital letters are necessary, because holy _God_ , Rachel did not know that papier-mâché could _do_ that – Rachel decides that maybe she’s being a bit too pointed in her attempts to force Kurt into a relationship and decides on a different approach.

A more _general_ approach.

\--

“You want to go to a gay club,” Kurt says flatly.

“Yes!” Rachel enthuses. “They have a fantastic karaoke night on today.”

“And you want me to come with you,” Kurt goes on.

“That’s right.”

Kurt stares at Rachel solidly before leaning over and pressing the back of his hand against her forehead. “No temperature,” he mutters, moving his hand down to the side of her face. “Glands aren’t swollen.”

Rachel swats his hand away. “What’s the big deal?” she asks. “It’s just a gay club.”

“Rachel, since when have I been the type of person who enjoys that kind of scene?” Kurt counters. “You know my idea of going wild is ordering a chocolate muffin with my coffee instead of a bran one. I’d much rather curl up on the couch with Blaine and marathon _Downton Abbey._ ”

That myth about college being where you get drunk and have a lot of meaningless sex? Doesn’t apply to Kurt in the slightest. He is the most _boring_ college student Rachel has ever met. Seriously, she took him to a party during freshman orientation and he _brought a book_.

“Come on, Kurt,” Rachel needles. “For me?”

Kurt narrows his eyes at her, like he doesn’t believe her, and _hey!_ Rachel is a perfectly good actress, okay?

“Okay,” Kurt says, looking like he _still_ doesn’t believe her, reaching into his coat-pocket. “Just let me call Blaine.”

Rachel snatches his hand away before he can start dialling. “No time!” she says. “Come on, let’s go!”

“Rachel? Rache— _It’s four o’clock in the afternoon!_ ”

\--

The gay club is a bust.

Kurt spends the entire evening at the bar, nursing a glass of water and texting on his phone. He turns down any and all invitations to dance, always with the same excuse: “Sorry, not interested.”

After her third round of karaoke and the second hour of Kurt stubbornly ignoring potential suitors, Rachel decides to call it a night and head home.

Kurt spends the entire cab ride looking at her strangely.

\--

Okay, Rachel has _so_ got this.

After what Rachel presumes is some kind quarter-life crisis, Kurt has decided that what he really needsis to start a band. He’s currently searching the city for able members-to-be, and what tops it all off is that Blaine’s flown out to LA to visit his brother.

Elliott Gilbert is kind of perfect for Kurt. He’s a talented musician, studying at NYU, and looking to join a band. Rachel is _convinced_ that they’re going to hit it off.

And hit it off they do.

Except, they’re kind of friends.

And kind of nothing more.

Blaine returns from LA a couple of days later and subsequently joins Kurt’s band, and once more, Kurt and Blaine are inseparable.

\--

Rachel’s struggles to force Kurt into moving on end swiftly the day that Blaine turns up to class wearing an engagement ring.

An. Engagement. Ring.

Rachel—Rachel hadn’t even known he was in a relationship. He looks over the moon about it as well – and Rachel can’t blame him for that – smiling at her and waving his hand around. “We decided it was time,” he says, sounding so excited about this, but all Rachel can think is, _Poor Kurt._

Rachel ditches her next class in favour of buying a tub of ice-cream and heading over to Kurt and Blaine’s shared apartment.

Kurt answers the door with an ear-splitting grin. “Hi, Rachel,” he says cheerily. Upon spotting the ice-cream, his face drops and he says, “Did you get dumped?”

Rachel stares at him. “I thought you’d be more upset,” she says slowly.

“Um,” Kurt frowns at her. “Why would I be upset? You saw Blaine in class right, wearing the ring?”

Rachel blinks. “I thought you were in love with Blaine.”

Kurt looks at her like she just swallowed her keys. “I am.”

“Kurt, Blaine’s wearing an engagement—”

Kurt _looks_ at her. And, _oh._

Oh, God.

Kurt and Blaine are— _oh._

Kurt looks at Rachel, expression somewhat stricken. “I thought you knew,” he says quietly. “Blaine and I have kind of been dating since freshman year, Rachel.”

Rachel feels like she’s been hit around the face with a wet fish. “Of college?” she asks weakly.

“ _High school,_ ” Kurt corrects softly. “Seriously? You didn’t know? Is this why you were being all weird with the blind dates and the gay bar?”

Suddenly, Rachel is struck by just _how much_ of Kurt’s life she’s been kept out of. “How was I _supposed_ to know?” she asks, voice skyrocketing in pitch. “You never _said_ anything!”

“We thought you knew!” Kurt shoots back, slightly louder than necessary. “ _Everyone_ already knew! We were practically glee club’s biggest open secret by graduation!”

Rachel’s anger just drains out of her, replaced by hurt. “Everyone already knew?” she echoes.

Kurt shifts awkwardly on his feet. “Um,” he says.

\--

 **Burt |** **Freshman Year**

“We have to tell him,” Blaine says, but he looks like he’d rather face down a mountain lion in nothing more than his underwear.

“No we don’t,” comes Kurt’s immediate reply. “He never has to find out.”

Blaine gives Kurt a sharp look.

Kurt sighs. “Shut up,” he says. “Do we have to tell him today? We could wait until tomorrow – I mean, nothing’s going to change overnight, so what difference does it make, really?”

“We had a deal, Kurt,” Blaine points out. “I tell my parents – which I did, if you remember—”

“I remember,” Kurt mutters. “That was the most awkward dinner ever, by the way. I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to forget your older brother offering to buy us sex toys.”

“—and you tell your dad.”

Kurt scowls at Blaine. “What if he tells me to break up with you?” he asks. It’s one of his deepest fears, that Burt will reject him, reject _this_ , when it feels like all he is can be siphoned into three boxes, one of them labelled _Blaine_.

Blaine caresses Kurt’s cheek. “Then we do what it takes to stay together,” he says firmly. “You were the one who struck this deal, Kurt. And, if I recall correctly, you said—”

“’No one backs out.’ I know, Blaine.”

“If it goes badly, Kurt, we’ll sort something out,” Blaine soothes.

“Okay,” Kurt says. “Okay.”

Fingers trembling, Kurt straightens out the lapel of his jacket. He swallows tightly, then forces his legs to move, past the entrance of the garage. It’s past closing time, and the space is empty of both employees and customers.

They find Burt in his office, chomping through a large sandwich and going over some paperwork. Kurt pauses in the doorway.

“Hey, Dad,” Kurt says.

Burt looks up. “Hey Kiddo,” he says. “You come to bring your old man dinner?”

“Uh,” Kurt hedges. “Actually, I was hoping we could talk.”

“About what?”

Instead of answering, Kurt reaches down with his hand and laces Blaine’s fingers in his own. Burt looks down at their hands.

“Oh,” Burt says. “That talk.”

\--

**Mercedes | Sophomore Year**

“Hey, Kurt,” Mercedes calls through the wall of the bathroom, hoping that she’ll be heard above the roar of the shower. “Do you mind if I borrow your phone to text my parents?”

“It’s on the dresser!” Kurt shouts back.

“Thanks!”

Mercedes files back into Kurt’s room, careful to step over the organised chaos of Kurt’s collage for French class, and locates the phone on the edge of Kurt’s chest of draws. After a quick swipe across the screen to unlock it, Mercedes opens up the messages folder and—

_Holy God._

She doesn’t mean to. It automatically goes to the contact thread with Blaine – it’s not like she went looking for this, but—

_Oh my God._

 

**Blaine :)**

[Kurt]  
[Kuuurt]  
[I’m bored.]

{You’re always bored.}  
{And put your phone away! You’re at a wedding!}

[At the reception now.]  
[This sucks. Cooper got to bring a date.]

{Cooper’s date was probably a different gender to him.}

[Still sucks.]  
[I want to be able to dance with you at this dumb party.]

{I thought you weren’t big on PDA?}

[Still not. Dancing isn’t PDA.]

{OK, how about this. When you get back, you can show me your moves.}  
{If you’re good, I may even let you dip-and-kiss me.}

[Dip and kiss sounds far dirtier than I think you intended.]

{Or maybe it sounds exactly how I intended it to sound?}

[Kuurt.]  
[You can’t do that when I’m in a different state to you.]  
[I hate you. You’re going to get my phone confiscated.]

{Love you too. Now, go put your phone away and catch up with your second cousins.}

 

Mercedes doesn’t hear the sound of the shower shutting off. She doesn’t hear Kurt getting dressed, or Kurt coming back into the room, until—

“Hey, Mercedes, have you seen my—” Kurt breaks off at the sight of Mercedes staring at his phone. “What are you looking at?” he asks.

Mercedes wordlessly shows him the phone screen.

“Oh,” he says.

“Yeah, ‘oh’,” she replies. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

A part of her feels bad for putting Kurt on the spot like this, especially when she sees how unprepared he is – how much he doesn’t want to talk about this. “I just,” Kurt says helplessly. “I didn’t think it mattered.”

And that might just be the biggest load of bullshit Mercedes has ever heard come out of Kurt’s mouth. “Didn’t think it mattered?” Mercedes echoes. “Of course it matters! How long as this even been going on?”

Once more, Kurt looks like he’d rather be talking about literally _anything_ else. “Since last year,” he eventually admits. “But it’s not—we’re not—oh God, why can’t I get this right?” He runs a hand through his still-damp hair. “Blaine and I – the validation that comes from being a public couple, we don’t need that. And it’s—safer, this way, I guess.”

 _That’s no way to live your life_ , Mercedes thinks, but she doesn’t say it. “Does your dad know?” she asks instead.

“Of course,” Kurt says immediately. “He was the first person I told.”

“You know no one in glee would care,” Mercedes points out. “We’re a family.”

Kurt shrugs. “All it takes is one person,” he says. “And that’s not a risk that I’m willing to take.”

Mercedes keeps her gaze trained on Kurt. “You do realise that I’m going to need all the sordid details, right?” she asks.

Kurt blushes to the tips of his ears. He looks distinctly uncomfortable. “Do we have to?”

Mercedes nods firmly. “Yes.”

\--

**Finn | Sophomore Year**

It’s a little weird, if Finn’s perfectly honest.

The thing is, Finn was convinced that his mother was single up until yesterday, and today he’s moving into her boyfriend’s house – her boyfriend who is Burt Hummel, Kurt-from-glee’s father. Who only has a two bedroom house. And already has one son.

So, it’s a little weird to be sharing a room with Kurt who is kind of, sort of, _very gay._

Not, you know, gay-gay, but the other kind of gay. The gay that meant that he was kind of gay, without the liking boys part, just the clothes and the fashion and the hair part. (Finn is pretty sure that Kurt doesn’t like boys like _that_ , because he’s like _cool_ and stuff, and he was on the football team for a bit last year, and gay guys don’t _play_ football.)

Just – for the other kind of gay-but-not-gay, this certainly looks _very gay._

Very, very gay.

Like, not straight at all.

Kurt is straddling Blaine’s hips, one hand deftly undoing the buttons on Blaine’s shirt, face-flushed and—

Finn drops his bag. _Loudly._

Kurt’s head snaps around and he lets loose a sudden _eep!_ before scrambling off Blaine and burying his reddened face in his hands. “This isn’t what it looks like!” he rushes out desperately.

Finn can’t quite get his mouth to work.

Blaine pushes himself up slightly, catches sight of Finn, and then drops himself back down onto the bed. “You had to walk in _now_?” he groans.

Finn looks between Kurt and Blaine. “Were you—” he starts. “Are you—” he breaks off. “You know what?” he says. “I’m just going to gay. Go! I’m going to go.”

Finn manages to shut the door before he hears mortified laughter break loose behind it.

\--

**Puck | Junior Year**

“Thanks again, Puck, seriously,” Finn says, accepting the ear-plugs gratefully.

“No problem, dude,” Puck dismisses. “My sister went through a Justin Bieber phase a few weeks back. I know how important peace and quiet can be.”

“It’s not normally this bad,” Finn says, shrugging. “Just, Mom and Burt are out for their honeymoon and I’d really rather not have to listen to my little brother having se—” Finn cuts off, realising what he’s just started to say, but it’s not enough to throw Puck off.

Puck’s mouth curves into an appreciative smirk. “Hummel’s finally getting some, huh?” he muses. “To be honest, I always thought he was gay. Anyone we know?”

“No, of course not,” Finn says immediately. “And Kurt’s not gay, why would you think that?”

Puck gives Finn a look that reads, _are you fucking kidding me?_ “Dude, he used to spend freshman Spanish staring at your face,” he says. “And he’s the only guy I’ve met that can name as many fashion designers as my mom.”

“Blaine knows fashion designers,” Finn points out.

Puck snorts. “Yeah, and I have my suspicions about the hobbit too.”

Finn chokes on his spit.

“Dude, you okay?” Puck asks.

“Yeah,” Finn says, voice strangled. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Puck frowns at Finn, then widens his eyes. “Wait, I’m totally right, aren’t I?” he asks. “Baby Hummel’s totally getting his kink on with Anderson, isn’t he?”

Finn shakes his head. “No! No! Of course not!”

But Puck just grins.

Oh _fuck._ Kurt is going to _kill_ him _._

\--

**Santana | Junior Year**

Blaine very nearly turns around and walks back out again the moment he catches sight of Santana stretched out languidly on her bed. She looks – kind of like a solicitation charge waiting to happen. Blaine feels more than just a little bit unnerved.

When she spots Blaine, standing awkwardly in the doorway of the room, she sits up and struts across the room to Blaine.

“You said you wanted my help to study?” Blaine asks, keeping one eye on the door in case he needs to make a desperate escape.

“I was doing some mental arithmetic,” Santana informs Blaine, “and I realised that you’re the only eligible bachelor left that I haven’t had my wicked way with.”

Blaine is starting to feel boxed in, despite the open door behind him. “That’s nice,” he says, even though it sounds more like _please don’t touch me._

Santana eyes him like he’s nothing more than a slab of meat. “So, what do you say, Frodo? Want to learn from the master?”

“I— _no._ ” Blaine shakes his head. “No. No thank you.”

Santana stops dead. “Did you just turn down sex with me?” she asks incredulously. “I am the _goddess_ of sex. I could teach a class in sex. And you just _turned me down_?”

“Look,” Blaine stutters, “it’s nothing personal. You’re very beautiful, but—”

“What?” Santana demands. “You’re insecure? Little Blaine’s not so big after all? _Please_ , it’s not like you’re going to be the smallest guy I’ve fuc—”

“I’m gay!” Blaine cuts in desperately. “I’m gay and I’m in love with Kurt and for the love of _God_ , please stop talking about my dick!”

Santana stares at him. Blaine watches as her lips slowly curve upwards into a predatory grin.

“You and Hummel,” she says, teeth glinting in a manner that is oddly reminiscent of a shark.

Blaine takes in her expression, the underlying smugness to her tone, and decides that dignity isn’t worth it.

He turns around and flees.

\--

**Quinn | Junior Year**

Quinn is so ready to be done with high school – so ready to leave Lima behind in the dust. After everything that happened last year, high school just feels so _trivial_ , and Quinn just _doesn’t care_ anymore. Teenagers are assholes, unilaterally and uniformly, and Quinn doesn’t think there’s a single good thing that can come out of a place like McKinley, except for _getting out of_ a place like McKinley.

So when she hears singing in the auditorium after school one day – long past glee practice – she sort of just _pauses._

Because that’s _Blaine’s_ voice.

Quinn dimly recognises the lyrics as those of a classic love song – one of the songs her mom and dad used to sway to in the kitchen, before … _before_ – and she finds a smile crossing her features as she tries to picture the girl who’s the subject of Blaine’s private serenade.

It’s not a girl, though.

Sat cross-legged on a corner of the stage, smiling like she’s never seen him before, is Kurt. Blaine croons and sighs the lyrics out, reaching the chorus before Kurt pushes to his feet and seals his lips over Blaine’s.

Oh.

Quinn just sort of stares at the two of them.

Oh.

Kurt is the one to break the kiss, turning his head to the side when Blaine tries to chase his lips. “You take my breath away,” he says.

Oh.

Quinn should leave, she knows. She should let them have this moment, but she’s stuck there, feet rooted to the ground, stomach twisting in envy.

Just— _oh._

No-one meets their happily-ever-after in high school. That’s the philosophy Quinn has maintained ever since she lost Finn to a combination of her own stupidity and Rachel Berry. High school doesn’t last forever, and neither do the relationships formed in the sea of hormones that make up their classmates.

But maybe Kurt and Blaine will.

It’s then that Quinn leaves. The longer she stays, quietly intruding on this moment, the more she’s going to resent Kurt and Blaine.

And they don’t deserve that.

\--

**Sam | Senior Year**

Sam is super grateful to the Hudmels – like, super, super grateful. It means he gets to finish his senior year at McKinley, and Mrs Hudmel is _the_ best cook. It’s a warm bed and a loving household, and there’s not much more that Sam could have asked for.

Just—this was most definitely not in the contract _._

Kurt is awesome – like really, really awesome – but there are some things that Sam can never un-see and this? _This is one of them._

Kurt has his legs wrapped around Blaine’s waist, ankles digging into his back, and is panting heavily into Blaine’s neck. Blaine has him seated on the sink, back pressed up against the steamed-up bathroom mirror. It’s pretty much the definition of soft-core porn, and this is something that Sam can _never un-see._

Sam wonders if they know that they forgot to lock the door, and then wonders if Mr Hudmel knows about the fact that Blaine is _defiling his teenage son_ in the upstairs bathroom.

Sam presses his towel and toothbrush close to his chest and turns around and walks out. He hadn’t even known that Blaine was _gay_. Is this a new thing? Did this happen when Sam was off throwing his clothes into the audience for money? How much drama has he missed?

“Hey man,” Finn greets, wandering out of his room. “I thought you were going to shower?”

“It’s occupied,” Sam says numbly. “Does Blaine sleep over often?”

“Oh, right, yeah,” Finn says. “Blaine stopped by pretty late last night. You were already out so we were like, not going to wake you up. Hey, have you seen Kurt? It’s his turn to make breakfast.”

Sam says nothing, merely points at the now closed bathroom door.

Finn frowns. “I thought Blaine was in there.”

Sam gives Finn a look.

Finn’s eyes widen as his face contorts into an expression of disgust. “Dude,” he says. “Kurt!” he shouts through the door. “We had an agreement, man!”

Sam decides to go and ask Mr Hudmel if he can use his en-suite to shower. Maybe he can scrub his eyes out with soap while there.

\--

**Mike and Tina | Senior Year**

Tina stands awkwardly on stage, crushed closely into Mike’s side, waiting.

It’s the waiting that kills her, really. This is _everything_. It’s the precipice that they’re all perched on, breaths baited, bodies tense, just _hoping._

Tina is so heavily focused on keeping it together that she almost misses the way that Kurt and Blaine have their hands intertwined. Huh.

Subtly, Tina nudges her elbow into Mike’s side, then nods her head towards Kurt and Blaine.

Mike smiles into her hair.

\--

**Artie | College**

“I love you, Artie, so, so much,” Kurt slurs at Artie, nearly falling over himself as he tries to pull the other boy into a hug. “So much.”

“Oh man,” Artie laughs. “You are so far gone, aren’t you?”

It’s been a year since graduation – a year since they all went their separate ways – and currently they’re in the basement of Rachel’s house, reliving their high school years in the best way possible: copious amounts of alcohol and more than a few inappropriate drinking games.

“’M not drunk, just tipsy,” Kurt says, but the dopey quality to his smile says otherwise.

“Whatever you say dude,” Artie tells him.

“You know what’s the best?” Kurt asks suddenly. “Sex. Sex is the best.”

Artie briefly looks forward to tomorrow morning when Kurt realises what he spent the previous night telling his friends. The embarrassment is going to be palpable. Artie can’t wait.

“I’m sure it is,” he says, bringing his bottle of beer to his lips and making a gesture that says, _tell me more._

“We don’t have to be quiet anymore,” Kurt informs him. “’S great. Love making Blaine screa—”

Artie chokes on his mouthful of beer. “ _Blaine_?!” he demands.

Kurt smiles. “Blaine’s so good at sex,” he divulges. “ _So good_.”

“Yeah,” Artie mutters. “I heard you the first time.”

Kurt scowls at him. “You can’t have him,” he states pointedly. “’E’s mine.”

Artie pats Kurt’s back. “Okay,” he agrees easily, trying to stop his brain from short-circuiting with _Kurt and Blaine._ It’s not like he hadn’t suspected – he thinks that anyone who’s ever met the duo has left questioning the supposed platonic nature of their relationship – but hearing this from Kurt is kind of like finding out intimate details of your parents’ sex life.

Artie pushes away from Kurt.

“Where’re you going?” Kurt asks.

Artie waves his beer bottle. “To get something stronger.”

\--

**Elliott | College**

“Look,” Elliott says the moment he meets Kurt, “I’m sure you’re a lovely person, but I’m just here for the band. I’m not looking for any sort of relationship.”

Kurt looks at him like he’s grown a second head. “I never said I was looking for a relationship.”

“Yeah, just your friend – Rachel?” Elliott explains. “She kind of made this sound like a date, and I’ve just gotten out of my last shitshow of a relationship and I need to make clear that I’m not looking for, well, anything.”

“That’s good,” Kurt says slowly, “because I’m asking my boyfriend to marry me in two weeks’ time.”

Elliott blinks. “Oh,” he says. “Rachel kind of made it sound like you were … single. And a bit desperate too.”

Kurt sighs. “I’m not sure what’s been going through Rachel’s head recently,” he confides.

“That makes two of us,” Elliott mutters. “So, how long have you and…?”

“Blaine.”

“…Blaine been dating?”

“Freshman year of high school,” Kurt replies, smiling slightly. “He asked me for a pen in Spanish and it was love at first sight.”

“Really?” Elliott asks, hoping that the doubt he feels isn’t showing through too strongly in his tone.

“No,” Kurt replies immediately. “I made him buy me a mocha after school and _then_ it was love at first sight.” He’s grinning, though, and Elliott gets the sense that this is some kind of inside joke he’s missing out on.

“Ah,” Elliott says, nodding in understanding. “Coffee addict?”

Kurt nods. “Way to any man’s heart,” he says sagely.

“Well,” Elliott says seriously, “I _was_ going to buy you a drink, but if that’s the case…”

“I think you’re safe,” Kurt tells him, smiling again. “It’s been five years, countless coffee shop meetings, and an awful lot of mochas … you’d have to buy me a lot of coffee to even stand a chance.”

If Elliott were after Kurt, he’d say something like, _That sounds like a challenge._ Or he’d walk up to the coffee shop counter, buy a mocha, and then put it in front of Kurt with a comment of, _Let me make a start._

But Elliott _isn’t_ after Kurt. He’s just gotten out of a really shitty relationship – Chase fucked him over in so many ways, ways he’s still only just discovering – and he’s not going to jump in to someone else’s happily-ever-after in an attempt to figure himself out. Besides, Elliott could do with a few more friends, and Kurt seems to want that sort of relationship too.

So, Elliott smiles, says, “You got any pictures of you two together?” and lets Kurt buy his own mocha.

\--

\--

\--

**Mr Schue | Post-College**

“I still can’t believe I was the last person to know,” Rachel huffs as she places a stamp on one of the envelopes.

“I still can’t believe you hadn’t figured it out,” Blaine retorts simply. He reaches for one of the stacks. “I’m going to go mail these – try to get at least some of them in before the mailman’s five pm collection.”

“Here,” Kurt says, shoving another pile into Blaine’s hands. “Take these two. Why do we know so many people?”

“ _I_ know so many people,” Blaine corrects. “If you had your way, we’d live in the wilderness as hermits.”

“Fashion-forward hermits,” Kurt puts in.

“Hermits all the same.”

“Ugh, would you stop it?” Rachel cuts it. “I’m having trouble believing that you’re not married yet.”

Blaine smiles. “I’ll be back,” he tells Kurt quietly.

Kurt watches Blaine go, a secret smile on his face. Across the table, Rachel groans.

“What?”

“I really don’t know how I missed it. You two are _so_ obvious.”

\--

Will stares down at the piece of paper in his hand. The embossed envelope really should have given it away, but… _Oh,_ he thinks. _That … actually makes a lot of sense._

_You are cordially invited to attend the wedding of_

_Kurt Hummel & Blaine Anderson_

\--

END

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt:
> 
>  
> 
> _Kurt and Blaine are best friends. They have been for a while. Now they're in college (or post college) and everyone knows them as BEST friends. As a matter of fact, a lot of their friends say they act like brothers. The thing is, they're dating. But no one knows. A lot of fics have Kurt and Blaine not being able to keep their hands off each other and everyone knows their dating. In this fic, it's the opposite. They keep it a secret, their friends have NO idea. Then they find out._


End file.
